My Study Abroad Profile

We have arrived to Bali, Indonesia! After a long, long, long 24 hour connected flight we are now in beautiful At our first stop, Ubud!

My joy is unmatched, thanks to my roomie for taking this after entering the hotel!

Each morning the hotel served a traditional Balinese breakfast and it was absolutely incredible. This picture was taken on the rooftop eatting area after each of us devoured our first plates. The full plates that you see are 100% the seconds and thirds lol.

After a mini adventure we made it to orientation where Rika, Dayu, and Yudha taught us various aspects of their Balinese culture & Hinduism. A few of my favorite moments are,

After lunch we went on a scavenger hunt in which we talked to many many people in the town near our hotel! This is a picture of a woman teaching me how to make offerings.

The next day we went on a herbal walk, exploring a beautiful trail and drinking delicious tea. We learned about morning glory, a blue flower that has hallucination effects and is one of the most poisonous plants in the entire world.

Immediately after the temple we ventured to the beautiful Mengening Holy Spring Water Temple. This was one of my moments of the entire trip! We learned about the sacred nature of water in Balinese culture.

Water fountains have specified meanings and have engravements telling each meaning. Water is the best confession element, because it can keep a secret.

Everything at this temple is absolutely beautiful! We learned many, many things about their culture.

For lunch we took a trip to a beautiful overlook of the Mount Blaur Volcano in Kintamani, the food was incredible! Make sure to check out my food highlight!

After lunch we visited a Coffee Plantation and tasted various blends.

We spent dinner at the Blahbatuh Royal Palace! We toured the palace and had the chance to speak with the King and Princess over dinner about the current political climate in their district.

Today the first stop is a Banjar Workshop! Every village has a Banjar or community center, where villagers prepare offerings and food for ceremonies. We learned traditional gamelan music, the legong dance in this picture, and how to create offerings.

Here's a video of my mini group playing the drum song galak! We were honestly struggling, but our instructor was extremely sweet the whole time!

Next stop is Museum Wayang and Topeng, a puppet museum! Pictured is the Barong Plok from Kediri religion, East Java. In ancient culture it's a symbol of goodness against evil.

Ok, if someone would have asked me prior to this, do you want to walk in mud to your knees with cows and plant rice. I may have said no. However, when in Bali, Indonesia, why not??!! This picture came after a Subak Lecture by a Local Expert & Five Pillar instructor. Five Pillar focuses on sustainable tourism and impact travel that provides inspiring and responsible travel experiences to showcase the beauty of rural communities, cultures, and natural environments of Bali.

We began our day by visiting the non-governmental organization Kopernik that has the mission to redeuce poverty by experimenting with potential solutions that address common challenges facing people living in the last mile. Kopernik is spread amongst three smaller entities, Perfect Fit, The Magi Farm, and Rumbia. Each of these wonderful organizations focus on different tasks all surrounding sustainability, such as reusable period solutions, renewable energy solutions, and food-waste processing. A huge takeaway for me was learning of the stigma of periods in Indonesia and how reusuable period underwear is helping them overcome it. @Kopernik.info @Perfectfit_id

At the end of the night we gather together to watch a traditional Balinese dance performance. It was incredible to watch this performance after having a beginner lesson in the same dance and instruments the day prior. The performance was incredible and beautiful!

Today is Sawaswati day! Saraswati day is a traditional Balinese holiday to celebrate the day when knowledge is given by God through the beautiful goddess Saraswati. We began the day by visiting the Samuan Tiga Temple and being guided and taught by Garrett Kam. This was a beautiful experience and lesson in which we were able to perform a Balinese prayer.

This is a picture of my offering I used during our morning prayer. Each flower has it's own meaning, white petals representing the God Iswara, red petals representing Brahma and yellow flowers representing Mahadeva. I began by lighting incense and placing it on top of my offering. The priest says a few words, as you life your palms together to you forehead. The bell ringed as I placed flowers in my hands, then ears. I put out the incense was doused with holy water and am offerred rice. Traditionally, sips of water are taken, and each of these steps are done in threes. The most amazing aspect of this prayer was being guided to pray for my dreams, my family, my career and prosperity.

Our last trip of the day was at the non-governmental organization The PKP Community Center. The founder Ibu Sari Pollen dedicate her life to helping vulnerable women and children in Bali after her own experience of going through a divorce and not being allowed to see her daughter for 12 years. In Bali, divorce is completely different, the women are forced to not just leave the home, but the community and never come back. While at the center we met the children being given an education at the organization, took a second to engage in a yoga class, and speak to Ibu Sari Pollen, about her story and how she is helping women in Bali. This picture is me and her! Learn More Here

In this picture our two out of three of our amazing tour guides Dayu and Rika. You may have seen their comments on my profile. We gained a beautiful friendship in the last few days and at the PKP we took a second to capture a memory during the tour. I was maybe 20 bug bites in at the point, but full of smiles still!

Today we drove to Ubad Ubud to learn traditional Balinese recipes and we did a fantastic job. The food was wonderful and I still have my recipes so I will be cooking each of these receipes as much as possible

My first tea party! We visited Made Tea a beautiful farm that grows a variety of local plants and herbs in which the owner a sweet woman Made, shares with the world to improve the health, happiness, and wellbeing of her community with various tea blends.

Ok yall, look at this view! Today we went on a trek to the Tenganan Indigenous Village and it was incredible. I love to hike and this was extremely challenging, the bridge you see, we walked it. The bridge is literally made solely out of bamboo, I put my phone in my pocket and stepped as fast as I could. The actual trek was about 4 hours and every step of the way was beautiful!

Last night we drove to Amed in which our hotel is right on the beach! I woke up extremely early to watch the sunrise! Only on trips can I wake up this early! The sunrise was beautiful, and today we are snorkeling!!!! I cannot wait!

Today was amazing. This picture is terrible, but it's the only one I got because I spent like 3 hours in the ocean. This was the instruction we had prior to snorkeling to learn how to effectively do so. The water felt amazing and viewing the coral reef was a surreal experience!

Today was extremely relaxed and we have lots of free time so here's a picture I took during the hike a few days ago. I love this picture and just seeing myself in the moment while over a very big cliff! Tonight we go to Sanur and I couldn't be more sad that the trip is almost over.

Today we gave back to the community and helped the organization Scholars of Sustenance (SOS) create 200 plates to give to the children at the local school!

Since we had free time and our time in Bali is almost up, I had to... I have always wanted to jetski and found the perfect time to take this adventure. The best part of this trip was the safety I felt everywhere I went with or without my program group. I actually went alone and met wonderful people who made this ten times more incredible.

Tonight, our program leaders Dayu, Rika, Yudha surprised us with a goodbye dinner on the beach! It's extremely bitter sweet, but I have cherished every last moment of this study abroad program!

Today is our last day. After our good bye dinner last night, I am extremely sad to go but couldn't be happier to have this opportunity! Today we took a trip to Krisna Oleh-Oleh Bali to grab a few souvenirs where I copped this beautiful pink bag!

Bye Baliiii! I will miss you! I will comeback! This study abroad trip was everything I ever desired for it to be and 100 times more. Many people ask me to speak about it and I still cant bring all of my feelings one complete sentence. I hope you all enjoyed viewing my profile! Suksma Bali!!

I Love Bali!